Acrofatic: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
[[File:Rufus_Acrofatic_1456Rufus Acrofatic 1456.jpg|link=Street Fighter|frame|His kung-fu is stronger. And fatter.]]
 
{{quote|''"For someone who cannot see his feet, you are very light on them!"''|'''Prince Naveen''', ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]''}}
 
Simply put, a fat character who can maneuver like a gymnast, sprint like an Olympic runner, or kick your ass like [[Chuck Norris]], despite being... you know... fat. These characters are also usually [[Lightning Bruiser|Lightning Bruisers]]s, although [[Fragile Speedster|Fragile Speedsters]]s are not unheard of. May intersect with [[Stout Strength]] for characters who aren't actually fat, but rather very musclebound. Originally just made to subvert the idea of [[Mighty Glacier]].
 
Almost always male, probably due to the media reluctance to ever depict a female of less than [[Hollywood Homely|average mainstream attractiveness.]]
 
Sometimes [[Truth in Television]], since body fat has little bearing on muscle or flexibility -- theflexibility—the correlation is between fat and lack of exercise, so someone who exercises but still eats a ton can end up like this. For example, sumo wrestlers. Moreover, mass x acceleration = force, so as long as someone can move effectively, more mass means more powerful strikes when they hit you. (In fictional works, the talent will often be humorously explained by way of the fact that, well, round people "roll" really easily, and thus will be good at basic tumbling.)
 
Compare [[Kevlard]], which often goes hand-in-hand with this trope. [[Glacier Waif]] is the [[Inverted Trope|inverse]]. A very good way to establish a character as [[Big Fun]].
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* [[Stout Strength|Genma Saotome]] from ''[[Ranma ½]]''. Although he's naturally [[Overshadowed by Awesome|outclassed by his son and his son's peers]], he's unbelievably agile and fast for someone with his age and frame. Even when transformed into a panda. He is, however, not so much obese as he is a large man in general.
* ''[[One Piece]]''
** Oars -- heOars—he's a giant (even by giant standards) who jumps several times higher than his own height. And he's damn fast. It helps that he had Luffy's shadow animating his corpse. His descendant, Little Oars Jr., is similar but perhaps a bit slower.
** Somewhat earlier is Yama of Skypeia. Really, a body that fat with arms and legs that small, it's a wonder the guy can even move. Yet he can move pretty damn well.
** And then there's Sentomaru, who's built like a sumo wrestler but can keep pace with Luffy.
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* Goemon Ishikawa in ''[[Yaiba]]'' is quite large and plump, but he's a [[Lightning Bruiser]] when he fights.
* Iwado the fat judoka from ''[[Holyland]]''. The notes point out that many underestimate the speed of judoka.
* Mr. Legend from ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'' was the first Superhero ever and inspired the main character to become a superhero himself. Acts like Superman and has a Superman-like suit, but is fat and in his late 40s when he appears -- howeverappears—however he's nonetheless the most badass Superhero out of all.
 
 
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== Comic Books ==
* Blob, foe of the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'', while in the shows and movies is a [[Mighty Glacier]], in the comics has the athletic ability of an Olympian. He has used cartwheels and gymnastic flips to place himself precisely where he wants to be as a blockade -- orblockade—or on top of a foe! Remember, Fred Dukes was a circus performer before he became a supervillain.
* A minor Western Marvel villain from ''Kid Colt'' called simply The Fat Man, who could roll and [[Foe-Tossing Charge|bowl people over]].
* Big Bertha of the [[Great Lakes Avengers]].
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* [[Godzilla]]. Sure, he's normally content just lumbering at a relatively slow pace. But, when he decides to move fast, he ''does''. His surprising agility even allows him to kick his enemies, with both feet, while sliding on his tail.
* One of the brothers in ''[[Shaolin Soccer]]'' has weighless moving as his specialty... even years later, after he had stopped exercising and gained a lot of weight.
* The title character of ''[[Paul Blart: Mall Cop]]'' is a surprisingly good fighter and very acrobatic (at times). In fact, being fat doesn't slow him down at all -- sufferingall—suffering from hypoglycemia does, though.
* The late [[John Candy]] proved to be agile in some of his movies, including pulling off some martial arts moves in ''Delirious'' as well as being able to ride a horse. He does a somersault in ''Who Is Harry Crumb'' and can toss his shoes with deadly precision.
* [[Fat Bastard]] of the third ''[[Austin Powers]]'' movie is extremely agile in combat. He can even flip, though [[No Fourth Wall|he needs a stunt wire team for that, which snaps halfway through his stunt.]]
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* Speed, one of the supervillian/bullies in ''[[Sky High]]'', was a Flash like speedster in spite of being overweight.
* John Travolta described his ''[[Hairspray]]'' character, Edna Turnblad, in these terms. Tracy is this trope too; a significant part of the film is focused on her mad dancing skills.
* Chris Farley's Haru in ''[[Beverly Hills Ninja]]'' -- see—see [[Real Life]] below; Farley himself was pretty agile and did many of his own stunts in this and other films.
* In ''[[Mission Impossible (film)|Mission Impossible]] III'' Philip Seymour Hoffman's Davian is seen doing some acrobatic maneuvering. Of course {{spoiler|it is not actually Davian -- it is Tom Cruise's character dressed up to look like him.}}
* Near the end of the direct-to-video comedy film ''Run Ronnie Run'', an overweight kid who was kidnapped by disgruntled Reality TV stars (don't ask) and spent his entire captivity playing [[Dead or Alive]] proceeds to beat the crap out of his kidnappers [[I Know Mortal Kombat|using the over-the-top "martial arts" moves from the game]] while the song "Ass Kickin' Fat Kid" plays in the background.
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== Literature ==
* Fatman of ''[[Wild Cards]]'' can jump around like man who weighs a tenth of what he actually masses-- becausemasses—because he does. His power is gravity control, and he habitually lightens himself to get around more easily.
* In one of the ''Burke'' novels by [[Andrew Vachss]], Max the Silent has a brief spar with one. Although Max beats him, he is impressed with his skill. Also, in ''Terminal'', we get introduced to Gigi, who is a perfect example of this trope. Burke may qualify; he is described as large and slippery, but lacking the knockout punch power to be a full [[Lightning Bruiser]].
* [[Big Bad|Sunday]] from ''[[The Man Who Was Thursday]]''.
* Hern Heslin, in ''[[The Duel of Sorcery Trilogy]]'', is described several times as short and pudgy. The first time you see him, he's tied up...but not for long. After freeing himself, he quickly outmaneuvers and kills a bad guy who's much taller and trimmer. He ends up repeating both feats in ''Moonscatter''.
* In [[Glen Cook]]'s ''Dread Empire'' books, Mocker is noted for being very fat -- andfat—and one of the deadliest swordsmen alive. His comrade Bragi Ragnarson, described as a giant of a man, flinches when Mocker threatens him.
* In the [[Star Wars]] book ''The Planet of Twilight'' there is a Hutt who uses a lightsaber quite effectively against Leia. She even comments to herself about how fast he can move for such a massive creature. He of course loses, leading to a very squicky description of what happens to a Hutt's body when it's sliced open by a lightsaber.
* Sergeant Garcia from the [[Zorro]]-stories is a good swordsman and strong, agile and fit enough to be a credible threat to The Fox himself. He is also a distinctly pudgy [[Big Eater]].
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== Live-Action TV ==
* The "Obesity" episode of ''[[Penn and Teller Bullshit]]'' -- which—which focused on addressing common misconceptions about fat people -- heldpeople—held a "Fat Guy Olympics" (with one skinny guy). Most of the fat guys outran the skinny guy.
* Randy from ''[[My Name Is Earl]]'' despite being fat is actually a really talented natural gymnast. It is only brought up once a season or so though to preserve the [[Played for Laughs|comedy]] value of it.
* On ''[[Community]]'' when Buddy is discussing what he would bring to the study group, he says they need a chubby, agile guy. Though his actual invocation of this tropes is a bit messy.
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== Pro Wrestling ==
* Pro wrestler [[Samoa Joe]] is a rare real life example. Any near-300-pounder who can run rings around [[TNA]]'s X Division, which is pretty much entirely made up of [[Fragile Speedster|Fragile Speedsters]]s, can definitely call himself Acrofatic.
* Along with Big Van [[Vader]]. 450 pound men usually don't do moonsaults.
* American Balloon. Obese dude doing the sky twister press. Seriously.
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* [[World of Warcraft]] features Bear Druids. Their main role is to use [[Kevlard|their bulk to soak up damage]]. They also need to have a very high Agility rating, as this allows them to dodge more attacks.
** They can also trigger a party-wide movement speed boost with Stampeding Roar. [[Truth in Television|Bears can run at 30 mph]].
* Peater in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'' is rotund and looks incredibly out of shape, but is quick enough with his tiny sword to cut a stalk of bamboo upwards of 30 times before it falls. This odd combination is [[Justified Trope|justified]] as he was once a top-ranked Sky Knight but has since retired--presumablyretired—presumably, Peater was once even better than he is now.
* Smough in ''[[Dark Souls]]'' isn't as fast as [[Lightning Bruiser]] Ornstein, but he's pretty quick for someone so huge and bulky. Of course, Smough might not actually be that bulky under the armor.
* Typhlosion in ''[[Pokémon]]'' does not look like it should have a base 100 Speed (that's faster than some nimble Pokémon like Lucario) with those little stubs for legs, nor should Gengar, who's even faster.
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* The main reason fat people can be agile is because they rely on fast-twitch anaerobic muscles. This is why many of the early baseball heroes like Babe Ruth were a bit on the pudgy side. They didn't need endurance, just a quick burst of speed to get to first base.
* Sammo Hung, a legendary action superstar and frequent collaborator with Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao in Hong Kong action cinema. He suffered an injury at 16 that left him bedridden for months, and the resulting weight gain has more or less become his calling card. Even nearing the [[Cool Old Guy|age of sixty]] and not getting any thinner, he can still go toe-to-toe with the likes of much younger action stars such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-zE2YFp7lU Donnie] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBIg9l4TTIM Yen] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji7oSx6AhM4 Wu Jing.]
* Most female practitioners of traditional Middle Eastern and African dance are exactly this -- notthis—not particularly surprising, as the dances come from places where being fat is a sign of good luck and/or affluence.
* Heavy Impact from Americas Best Dance Crew is a group of acrofatic dancers.
* Chris Farley, late [[Saturday Night Live]] comic, was surprisingly agile and performed some of his own stunts. His dance moves in this [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu9mx_patrick-swayze-chippendale_fun skit] are actually pretty hard to pull off.
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* [[Jack Black]]. Although on the pudgy side, he is surprisingly agile and can perform physical comedy with the best of them. Specifically referenced in his appearance on ''[[Community]]'', where he tries to gain access to the group by claiming they need "an agile fat guy". He then accidentally high-kicks Jeff in the face.
* While the [http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2007/09/word-of-day-calorie-cap.html calorie cap] certainly exists, many professional basketball players, particularly "bigs" who usually play the center position, are notably husky - including such all time greats as Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal.
* Pablo Sandoval of the [[Baseball|San Francisco Giants]]. During the 2009 season he was 5'11" tall and weighed close to 280lbs280 lbs, but showed remarkable agility despite his size. After scoring a run by jumping over the opposing catcher's tag at home plate, a teammate gave him the affectionate nickname of "[[Kung Fu Panda]]".
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLv230HLRNE Aiden Trimble], head of the FSK, is anything but a small man. Not that you'd ever notice whilst he's moving.
* Roman legionaries. They were professional soldiers who trained all the time with the gladius and were constantly marching with heavy loads or performing manual labor. They were also generally fattened up when not on campaign to increase survivability. As one book put it 'the most reliable supply train in their eyes was around their waists'.
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* Manx cats, as well as lacking tails, have a generally bulky body shape and faintly ridiculous long hind limbs that earned them the nickname 'cabbit'. However, they are still perfectly capable of the dainty athleticism cats are known for.
* While it's up to you to decide whether or not crocodiles can be perceived as fat, they are easy to mistake for sluggish predators on land. It's really downright terrifying to see how fast they actually run.
* Troy Jackson, aka "Escalade" was a 500  lbs professional streetballer.
* Thais Carla, a hefty Brazilian teenager who's a skilled, graceful dancer.
 
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